Till death let's us truly meet
by Waves of Wind
Summary: A meeting that should have occured in life, does so in death as a teenager who can see spirits meets a spirit waiting to be sent on. Both realize the dangers of getting close to the other, but still decide to use the time they have before she disappears.


**The thin line between life and death.**

A loud cry of pain was heard, echoing through the streets. A man of about eighteen hit the ground hard and rolled along the ground, until he stopped on his back. Growling at the darkening sky, he jumped to his feet and snarled at his attacker.

"Hey! What's the big idea, ya moron?"

The orange-haired teenager who had just kicked him to the ground frowned at the four people in front of him and pointed at the wall next to them. "Tell me, what is that?" The four teenagers glanced at the wall and one of them scratched his chin in confusion. "Eh, it's a wall?"

"Correct!"

A solid foot connected with the jaw of the one who had spoken, sending him in to a car and knocking him out. The orange haired teenager ignored the angry gasps and snarls around him. "Dude, he just knocked Susaki out. What the hell's your problem!?" One of the gang charged at their attacker and aimed a punch for his face, which his opponent caught. Squeezing down on the fist in his hand, the orange haired warrior smirked. "Now, let's try two questions. What is that silver plate in the wall and why is there graffiti over it?"

The three teenagers turned around and glanced at a small silver plate in the wall, stating a year of birth and a date of death. Only six months ago. "A girl died here. This is a memorial plate." One of them said. His friend nodded and went on. "T-The graffiti is our work. I-I-It's our gang symbol."

"Correct again!" Their orange assailant said as he backhanded the two who had spoken with enough force to send them flying and turned to the one who had taken his first attack. "Now, two more and then class is out. Why did you dishonor the memory of the girl who died here to save a young boy, and will you ever have the nerve to do so again?!"

The last member of the small gang swallowed loudly and tore his gaze from the plate, slowly turning around. He studied his opponent. The boy was long, muscular, but not disturbingly so, and had a frown on his face that had clearly been perfected through many years of wearing it. "I-I guess we weren't thinking. We'll never do it again." He was grabbed by the collar and hoisted up so his face was inches away from the warning snarl of the orange haired teenager. "Good. Now take your little boyfriends, apologize and never show your faces here again!"

The gang leader squeaked in fear and wrestled free, dragging his friends to their feet as he made his escape. "We're sorry! We're sorry! It will never happen again!"

The orange-haired teenager sighed and turned to what appeared to be thin air. "They're gone. You can calm down now."

The ghost of a girl about his age gasped and turned around in confusion. "What? Can you…..See me?" She had long, flowing, teal hair that reached to her lower back and murky golden eyes that still shimmered with fresh tears. She was wearing a green T-shirt that tightly hugged her chest, which her savior didn't mind even if he wasn't willing to admit it, and a pair of jeans. "Someone can actually see me? Oh thank god!" She rushed at him and, to the orange haired teenagers surprise, knocked him to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey?! How can you touch me?!" He asked as the spirit only increased her hold on him. "Hey! What's going on?" His harsh tone faded when he noticed she was still trembling slightly. "Hey, it's okay. Calm down. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Who are you?"

The girl pulled back slightly and gave him a small smile. "My name is Neliel tu Oderschvank. Call me Nel. Thanks for your help, Ichigo." Ichigo sat up and gently pushed her off. "Nice to meet you, Nel. Now could you explain why you can touch me?" Nel tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "I dunno. I've always been able to touch people. Maybe it's because of this?" She placed a hand over the chain on her waist and held it up to reveal that it had been attached to the wall with the memorial plate.

"I've seen those on people before, but usually they're broken." Ichigo said as he studied the chain. "You can't leave this place?" Nel shook her head. "I can, but the chain grows shorter when I do, not by much, but still." She shook her head and shivered. "I really don't want this thing to grow too short."

"Why not?" Ichigo asked as he leaned against the wall.

Nel bit her lip and looked at him nervously. "You can see spirits, right Ichigo?"

"……Yeah."

"Did they ever, disappear without a trace. Did you ever hear terrible screams, even when you couldn't find what had made the sound?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he stared at her. "Screams? No. You're right about them disappearing though. Isn't that how you guys pass on?" Nel smiled sadly and turned to the memorial plate. "We can't pass on. Spirits who remain in this world, can't pass on without the help of a shinigami. If they're not in time, we either become food for the hollows or become a hollow ourselves." She turned to Ichigo and, seeing his perplexed expression, she giggled. "For someone who can see spirits you don't know a whole lot about us, do you? Hollows are spirits whose chains fully disappear. I'm not sure what happens, but they are reborn as Hollows, monsters who feed on the souls of the dead as well as the living. The Shinigami exist to purify a hollows soul and send it to Soul Society, or heaven as most people know it, as well as the souls of those who dwell the world of the living after their time has come."

Ichigo rubbed his head in an effort to calm the upcoming headache and frowned at her. "Sorry, but you expect me to believe that crap? How would you know about all of this anyway?"

"I'm not lying!" Nel said. "I used to talk with another spirit a lot. He overheard a shinigami telling the same story I just told you to a spirit. She left before he could talk to her, but the spirit was gone too. What other explanation do you have, if you don't believe me?" Ichigo sighed and rested his back against the wall again as he closed his eyes. "I don't believe in things I can't see. This story is just too weird for me."

"You can see me, can't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

His breath caught in his throat and his eyes snapped open as he felt a light pressure against his chest, which turned out to be Nel's hand. "Can you not feel my touch?" His eyes widened as he noticed just how close she'd gotten and a blush spread on to his face. "N-Nel? What are you doing?" At this distance, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore her body and Ichigo could already feel his eyes sliding over her curves.

Nel quickly caught on and blushed slightly herself, before she grinned evilly. "Like what you see? It's all natural too." She her grin grew as she leaned in, both of her hands against his chest. "Ya know," She whispered as she drew circles on his chest with one finger, making Ichigo's blush even more noticeable. " While it's good to know dying and all didn't ruin my appearance, I'd prefer it if you looked at my eyes while we're having a conversation."

Ichigo swallowed and tore his gaze from the inviting sight of Nel's chest. "S-S-Sorry. I-I'll keep it in mind."

Nel laughed and pulled back, grinning. "All you guys are so much alike. I have to give you credit though, you immediately pulled your gaze back up and even have the sense to look embarrassed about it." She leaned against the wall next to him and smiled at the river. "Why did you help me? How long have you been able to see spirits? Doesn't it freak you out a little?" She grew a little embarrassed and cut her questions short as she moved her gaze to stare at her feet. "Sorry, I just get bored sometimes since no one can really see me and I'm usually alone. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Isn't it natural to want to help?" Ichigo asked. "You seemed upset about those guys spraying paint all over this wall and people in your position usually don't have the power to help themselves." He smiled and turned to look at her. "Besides, you wouldn't believe how boring a day of school can be."

Nel looked up with a tired grin. "Believe me I do. Karakura high school was hardly the talk of the town when I was alive and I didn't die all that long ago."

"You went to Karakura high? So do I!"

"No way! How could I never have noticed you?! I only died two months ago!"

They stared in amazement at each other, before Nel laughed softly to herself. "Amazing how people can pass by each other like that. Kinda weird that we had to meet this way."

Ichigo smiled as well and nodded. "It's better than not meeting at all isn't it? As for your other questions, I've been seeing spirits for as long as I can remember. I was scared out of my mind the first time , but it's never really bothered me after that."

Nel raised an eyebrow at him and blinked. "You're something else, aren't you? You attack a group of people simply to help the person before your eyes, not even knowing who she is." She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "I was wrong. You're not like other guys."

Ichigo chuckled and nodded. "So people keep telling me. I'm just me though. Can I ask you some questions now? How did you die? Why the hell are you still here? Isn't it better to just pass on and be at peace? Why keep yourself chained to this wall?"

Her smile faltered and she sighed. "A drunk driver lost control of his car around here. He was heading for a boy. I didn't think, I just jumped and pushed him out of the way. I don't remember what happened after that. I woke up to see my body lying broken on the sidewalk, an ambulance was already there." She turned her gaze away from Ichigo and stared at the river. "He was such a typical young boy. Chasing a bug he wanted to catch to show to his friend. I'm glad I was able to save him and I hope he's happy, but I never wanted to die. I wanted to live so badly as I saw them carry my body in to the ambulance and drive away." Her eyes shimmered with tears and she blinked furiously. "I just sat here, against this wall, for about a week. Until that old lady came. She visit me every week, his grandmother. The boy's parents died long ago and she raised him." She turned around and placed her fingers against the cold metal of the memorial plate. " In memory of the beautiful, brave and heroic girl who saved the one closest to my heart. I thank you, for the bottom of my heart I thank you. My only regret is that your life disappeared when you saved him, a complete stranger. Rest well and Rest in peace, so I can thank you in person when we meet. Goodbye, Neliel Tu Oderschvank. She was the one who made sure this was placed. Being a friend of the person who owns this park helped I guess." A few tears ran down her cheeks as she let out a shaky laugh. "She pulled me right out of my daze the first time she came. She just kneeled in front of this wall and cried, talking about how she should have taken better care of her grandson. That I should not have died. She was so sad, I forgot all about my own grief and placed my hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. She felt my touch and seemed to calm down. She came back every day to tell me of how her boy was growing up. How he was going to work hard, 'so that people like that pretty lady won't get hurt anymore'. I touch her on the shoulder every time she tries to apologize again to show her that I don't hold a grudge, and she seems to understand every single time." She picked up a pebble and Ichigo thought about how strange it must have seemed to anyone else who happened to look his way to see a pebble float up on its own accord. "She made me realize I can still interact with this world. I can still make people notice me. Strange how calming that was, how much easier it made the idea of being dead, because I was never the one who liked to be noticed. I was a real loner."

Ichigo sighed sadly and placed hand on Nel's shoulder, absently noting that he couldn't feel the texture of her skin or the shirt she was wearing, it was like touching solid air. "Is that why your chain attached itself to this wall? Because of that woman?"

Nel nodded. "She always seems so sad when she comes here, but then I touch her on the shoulder and she brightens up and starts telling me about her grandson. It's not much, but why should I stop brightening her day a little? Like you said, helping people is natural."

"And you'll take the chance of turning in to that monster you were talking about, a hollow, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure a shinigami will have come to collect my soul before that happens."

"That's very brave of you." Ichigo said as he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I hope you'll find peace when they do." They were both silent for a long while as they stared at the wall, until Nel spoke up. "Hey, Ichi, can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?"

She turned to face him and smiled sadly. "I want to remember what it was like to be alive, before my soul is sent on. Could you visit me from time to time and talk to me as if I was just another living person? I know you probably have lots of friends you wanna be with, but-"

"Sure."

"Wha?" Nel's jaw dropped and she stared at him in confusion.

"You're not the only loner here, you know. I don't like big, noisy groups either." He gave her a smile that lit up his entire face and she briefly noted he was much more handsome when smiling. "Besides, we seem to be a lot alike. Don't you think so? Let's be friends, Nel, if only to make up for never meeting each other in school."

Nel squealed in joy and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you Ichi! Yeah, let's be friends!" She dragged him over to a bench and the two talked like normal teenagers until night darkened the sky. Nel laughed about Ichigo's tragic story of how his friends had lured him in to the girls locker room and then took pictures of it and threw her head back to examine the heavens. "It's gotten late."

"Yeah, it has." Ichigo said. His face was relaxed and the permanent scowl he carried had faded as he smiled at Nel lazily. "I should go. Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'm already dead, there's not much else that could still happen to me." She answered and they laughed softly. Ichigo stood up and walked away waving over his shoulder, until he was stopped by the sound of Nel's voice. "….Hey, Ichi."

He glanced over his shoulder. "What is it, Nel?"

"Tomorrow?" She asked, her eyes suddenly pleading and vulnerable. Ichigo stared in to her pools of silver and noticed that he wantedto be here tomorrow. Nel was nice, smart, funny and just easy to be around. They were so alike, though on the outside, but with a caring inside. The logical part of his brain decided to inform him that becoming friends with a spirit was a bad plan as she was destined to pass on in to the next life, maybe there was some truth to that shinigami theory. Ignoring that part of his brain, he smiled and nodded. "Of course. See you tomorrow, Neliel."

She smiled as she watched him walk in to the night. "Thank you, Ichigo."

* * *

Hey guys!

I know I'm not finishing anything lately, but these thing just pop in to my head and block all other ideas. Call it a strange form of writers block. I know this sucks, because I suck at writing calm scenes. I'm trying to improve so here is my first pathetic attempt. Let me know what you guys think! Try to be nice but feel free to criticize, because I want to get better at this!

I've got a few ideas of what U'm gonna do with this, but I'll probably continue a my older fics first.

.......Then again......I've said crap like this before and then did the complete opposite, so let's just see what happens. Most inspiration hits me while I'm in bed anyway.

**AS ALWAYS, REVIEWS/COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED! DON'T BE SHY!! THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS PIECE OF CRAP! I PROMISSE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER.............PROBABLY.**


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